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TAXONOMIC STATUS OF THE EUROPEAN HARE IN ONTARIO

By Randolph L. Peterson and J. K. Reynolds

TORONTO JANUARY 31, 1954

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ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM OF ZOOLOGY AND PALAEONTOLOGY CONTRIBUTION NO. 38

TAXONOMIC STATUS OF THE EUROPEAN HARE IN ONTARIO

by

RANDOLPH L, PETERSON AND J. K. REYNOLDS*®

THE PRESENT POPULATION of European hares in southern Ontario apparently resulted from an introduction of nine animals near Brant- ford, Ontario, in 1912. These were secured from a German zoological exporter and the exact source of this introduced stock is not known. In the first published account of this introduction Dymond (1922) concluded that the species was Lepus europaeus and he inferred that it probably represented the race L. e. europaeus Pallas.

A year later Anderson (1923) added further notes concerning the status of this hare in Ontario, but carefully avoided using a subspecific name, pointing out the difficulties in making a definite identification with the limited amount of material available. The following year Miller (1924) listed L. e. europaeus as the form resident in Ontario and cited only Anderson (1923), not Dymond (1922). In the same year Silver (1924) reviewed the introductions into the United States, indicating that most of the original stock released there came from Hungary. It was not until eleven years later that Goodwin (1935) checked the identity of the New England introductions and showed that on the basis of the source of the stock, its coloration and large hind feet, the animal then occurring there was L. e. hybridus Desma- rest.

Later Anderson (1947) followed Miller (1924) and Cross and Dymond (1929) in ascribing the name L. e. europaeus to the Ontario populations, but he cited only himself (1923) for the previous history of the form in Ontario. Downing (1948) and others have used the same name.

In his recent synopsis of the North American Lagomorpha, Hall (1951) lists both europaeus and hybridus. Citing Goodwin (1935), he restricts hybridus to the United States from New York eastward; following Anderson (1947), he refers the populations of Ontario and Michigan to europaeus. He cites Burt (1946) in defining the range of this hare in Michigan, although Burt did not employ a trinomial in his discussions of this species in Michigan.

Miller (1924) provides a diagnosis of the races in question, indi- cating that ewropaeus occurs in Denmark, through most of Germany and central France, and into Switzerland, while hybridus ranges from

“Ontario Department of Lands and Forests, Maple, Ontario.

1

2 R.O.M.Z. AND P. CONTRIBUTIONS

eastern Germany eastward into central Russia. Ellerman and Morrison- Scott (1951) follow Miller with virtually the same definition of ranges for these two subspecies.

Reynolds (1952) found that specimens examined by him did not conform to Miller’s (1912) diagnosis of L. e. europaeus but he was unable to examine the necessary comparative material in order to settle this point. One skin and two skulls of L. e. europaeus from France in the Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology and Palaeontology proved to be so noticeably distinct from the Ontario examples of European hares that attempts were made to locate more European material in order to clarify the identity of the Ontario specimens.

We wish to acknowledge the cooperation of the following persons and institutions (the latter followed by abbreviations to be used in the text) in placing specimens at our disposal: Dr. G. H. H. Tate, American Museum of Natural History (A.M.N.H.); Dr. C. P. Lyman, Museum of Comparative Zoology (M.C.Z.); and Drs. D. S. Johnson and H. W. Setzer, United States National Museum (U.S.N.M.).

PELAGE

Ontario specimens conform with Millers (1924) diagnosis of hybridus. Compared with L. e. europacus from France and Germany (winter pelage ), they have more extensive white markings on the side of the head and the whitish area below the eye is usually continuous with that of the throat. The rump is more contrastingly grey in colour, with its median area only slightly darker, whereas in europaeus the dark colour of the back extends to near the base of the tail. Although there is considerable variation in general coloration of the body in both races, hybridus averages lighter.

One specimen, from Halton County, Ontario, taken on January 28, 1932, is of particular interest. Although it has maintained faint sug- gestions of the normal colour pattern, the entire back, feet, and ears are pale greyish. The back has a diluted admixture of white and buff, the feet, legs and sides are slightly more buffy, and the ears are more greyish with dark grey tips. The upper side of the tail and crown of the head are also darker grey. The lower sides and underparts are almost entirely white, although the throat has a few scattered buffy hairs. At present we are not familiar with the grey winter pelage which hybridus is said to assume “habitually”. The above specimen is the only one of its type we have seen and we are unable to say whether it represents the grey pelage referred to by Miller (1924) or a colour mutation.

A specimen from near Leningrad, Russia (M.C.Z. No. 25351), taken on December 6, 1886, has light greyish colour extending well up on its sides, behind the ears, and down on to the upper portion of the front and hind limbs. This light area joins the broad greyish rump, restricting the dark back colour to a relatively small area along the

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PETERSON & REYNOLDS: THE EUROPEAN HARE 5

middle of the back. The under fur of the rump is greyish, while that of the remaining light area is more buffy. The colour POF ‘the under parts, feet, head, ears, Sail and central region of the back are essentially the same as most Ontario specimens except that the rump is noticeably lighter. We find that one specimen each from Daghestan, Caucasus, near Petrovsk, Russia; Washington, Connecticut; and North Adarce Massachusetts (all from M.C.Z.) are indistinguishable from specimens of L. e. hybridus from Ontario.

CRANIAL MEASUREMENTS

The cranial measurements of available specimens of L. e. europaeus and L. e. hybridus were compared with similar measurements pre- sented by Miller (1912) and with those of Ontario specimens. These data, summarized in Table I, suggest that the skulls of europaeus differ from those of hybridus in having a narrower width across the paroccipital processes. In the former this width is usually about equal to the length of the diastema, while in the latter the greatest width of the paroccipital processes is usually greater than the length of the diastema. These comparisons are presented graphically in Fig. 1 (B and C), using the method of Hubbs and Hubbs (1953). A sum- mary of the cranial measurements of the skulls of 48 specimens of L. e. hybridus from Ontario is given in Table II(A).

Gross MEASUREMENTS

Miller (1912) has drawn attention to the greater size of the hind foot of L. e. hybridus compared with that of L. e. europaeus. In com- paring the gross measurements of Ontario specimens with those of L. e. europaeus we found that this difference is statistically significant (Fig. 1(A) ). The measurements of Ontario specimens are summarized in Table II(B).

It has been stated (Anon. 1947) and is widely held among hunters in Ontario that the European hares here sometimes attain a weight of twenty pounds or more. In the course of handling 973 specimens, however, Reynolds (1952) found only four which exceeded 5000 gm. (about eleven pounds ). The largest weighed 5600 gm. (about twelve

and one-half pounds ).

SPECIMENS E;XAMINED

Unless otherwise indicated, specimens are in the Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology and ee Lepus e. europaeus—a total of 14, as follows: France: Bretigny, 1; ee Cadillac, Gironde, 1: Gironde, 1; 2 mi. NE Is-Sor-Tile, Cote-d’Or, 1 (U.S.N.M.); Poiseul-la- Grange, Cote- dOr, 1 (A.M.N.H.). Germany: near Hamburg, 6 (A.M.N.H.); Magdeburg, 1 (U.S.N.M.). Switzerland: Werdenberg, St. Gallen, 1 (U.S.N.M.); Wittenbach, St. Gallen, 1 (U.S.N.M.). Lepus e. hybridus—a total of 82, as follows: Russia: near Leningrad, |

6 R.O.M.Z. AND P. CONTRIBUTIONS

TABLE II. Measurements of L. e. hybridus from southern Ontario.

Dimension Number of | Mean Standard Standard Specimens (mm.) Deviation — Error

(A) Cranial Measurements

Occipito-incisoral length 47 100.6 2.0 0). 29 Occipito-nasal length 47 100.2 2.2 0.33 Condylobasal length 47 89.4 2.0 0.29 Zygomatic breadth 39 47.3 1.4 0.23 Interorbital constriction 48 21.6 1.4 0.20 Postorbital constriction 48 14.1 fe 0.16 Breadth of braincase 47 33.4 Pe NY 0.16 Length of nasals 48 45.4 20 0.29 Width of nasals 48 23.3 1.5 0.21 Diastema 48 29.3 Lit 0.16 Greatest width across paraoccipital processes 46 30.5 0.9 0.13 Least length of palatine bridge 48 6.9 0.6 0.09 Width of palatine bridge (Alveolar) 48 14.2 0.8 0.12 Length of maxillary toothrow (Alveolar) 47 18.0 0.6 0.09 (B) Gross Measurements Total length—R.O.M.Z.P. 23 652 22.4 4.8 Reynolds (1952) 260 681 24.2 ees Tail—R.O.M.Z.P. 19 100 5.4 12 Reynolds (1952) 260 92 9.8 0.6 Hind Foot—R.O.M.Z.P. 22 1538 4.1 0.9 Reynolds (1952) 260 Lot 4.6 0.3 Ear from Crown—Reynolds 260 123 3.6 0.2 Ear from Notch—R.O.M.Z.P. 4 98 2.2 ist Weight (gm.)—Reynolds (1952) 693 4180 380 15

(M.C.Z.); Daghestan, Petrovsk, Caucasus, 1 (M.C.Z.). Connecticut: Washington, 1 (M.C.Z.). Massachusetts: near North Adams, 1 (M.C.Z.). Ontario: Brant Co.—Dumfries South Twp., 1; Scotland, 2; Halton Co.—2% mi. N. Trafalgar, 1; Middlesex Co.—Duncrief, 4; Iiderton, 1; Komoka, 1; Lobo Twp., 14; McGillivray Twp., 8; Oxford Co.—Blenheim Twp., 1; Kintore, 20; Oxford East Twp., 1; Woodstock, 2; Parry Sound District—Burk’s Falls, 1; Perth Co.—Mornington Twp., 5; Victoria Co.—Lindsay, 1; Waterloo Co.—Centreville, 1; Galt, 1, Kitchener, 3; Wilmot Twp., 1; Wellington Co.—Puslinch, 1; York Co.— King, 3; Nobleton, 1; Pottageville, 1; Toronto, 1; Vaughan Twp., 1; Woodbridge, 1.

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PETERSON & REYNOLDS: THE EUROPEAN HARE 7 SUMMARY

The European hare, introduced in 1912 and now established in southern Ontario, appears to belong to the race Lepus europaeus hybridus Desmarest.

LITERATURE CITED ANDERSON, R. M. 1923. Further notes on the European hare in Ontario. Can. Field-Nat., vol. 37, no. 4, pp. 75-76. 1947. Catalogue of Canadian Recent mammals. Natl. Mus. Can., Bull. no. 102 (Biol. Ser. no. 31), pp. 1-238. ANONYMOUS 1947. “Letters to the Editor’. Hunting and Fishing in Canada, vol. 13, no. 10, p. 44. Burt, W. H. 1946. The mammals of Michigan. Univ. Mich. Press, Ann Arbor, pp. 1-288. Cross, E. C. Anp J. R. Dymonp 1929. The mammals of Ontario. Roy. Ont. Mus. Zool. Handbook no. 1, pp. 1-55. Downing, S. C. 1948. A provisional check-list of the mammals of Ontario. Roy. Ont. Mus. Zool. Misc. Pub. no. 2, pp. 1-11. DyMonp, J. R. 1922. The European hare in Ontario. Can. Field-Nat., vol. 36, no. 5, pp. 142-148. ELLERMAN, J. R. AND T. C. S. Morrison-SCoTT 1951. Checklist of Palaearctic and Indian mammals, 1758 to 1946. Brit. Mus. (Nat. Hist.), pp. 1-810. Goopwin, G. G. 1935. The mammals of Connecticut. Conn. State Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey, Bull. no. 53, pp. 1-221. HALL. E.R. 1951. A synopsis of the North American Lagomorpha. Univ. Kans. Pub. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 5, no. 10, pp. 119-202. Husss, C. L. anp C. Husss 1953. An improved graphical analysis and comparison of series of samples. Syst. Zool., vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 49-56, 92. MILLER, G. S., JR. 1912. Catalogue of the mammals of western Europe. Brit. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) , pp. 1-1091. 1924. List of North American Recent mammals, 1923. U.S. Nat. Mus., Bull. no. 128, pp. 1-673. REYNOLDS, J. K. 1952. The biology of the European hare (Lepus europaeus Pallas) in southwestern Ontario. Unpub. Ph.D. Thesis, Univ. Western Ontario, 265 pp. | SILVER, J. 1924. The European hare (Lepus europaeus) in North America. Journ. Agri. Res., vol. 28, no. 11, pp. 1133-1137.

January 31, 1954

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